Pubdate: Wed, 11 May 2005
Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
Contact:  2005 The Press Democrat
Website: http://www.pressdemo.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348
Author: Paul Payne, The Press Democrat
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

NEW POT CLUB SET TO OPEN MONDAY

Site Just Outside Sr Limits; County Supervisor to Seek Emergency Moratorium

Santa Rosa may have a moratorium on pot clubs, but that isn't stopping
one from opening on Santa Rosa Avenue, just outside city limits.

On Monday, a group will open Sonoma County's fourth medical marijuana
dispensary in the former Cork 'n' Bottle liquor store.

Kenneth Beyries, a lawyer for the new Northbay Wellness Center, said
he hopes the club will be a shining example in a region that has had
its share of pot club problems.

"It will be strikingly different than any other club around," Beyries
said. "We're attempting to operate in a manner as inoffensive as possible."

Word of the opening surprised neighbors, the landowner and county
officials, who vowed immediate action to prevent more clubs from
opening in unincorporated areas of the county.

Tim Smith, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, said he would
propose an emergency moratorium Tuesday to give the county time to
devise regulations. The county has no policies prohibiting pot clubs,
but Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park and Sebastopol have temporarily banned
new pot clubs while they draft permanent laws regulating their operations.

"I have no problem with the use of marijuana to ease pain and
suffering," Smith said. "The issue is how it is it done. It's a matter
of where it fits in."

Sheriff Bill Cogbill said deputies would not try to shut the
dispensary, but he would launch a investigation to ensure no laws are
broken.

"The law is not real clear whether cannabis clubs are legal," Cogbill
said. "My opinion is they are not."

District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua said his office would not
prosecute medical marijuana dispensaries.

Several marijuana clubs have come and gone in the county in the nine
years since California voters approved Proposition 215, which
legalized marijuana for medical use. The businesses sell marijuana to
people who have obtained a doctor's recommendation to use it for
medical purposes.

Of the current pot clubs, one is in unincorporated Guerneville and
three are in Santa Rosa.

Complaints this spring about a Sonoma Avenue club prompted the Santa
Rosa City Council to impose its moratorium while it writes a law that
governs where and when the dispensaries may operate.

Neighbors to Resource Green Caregivers pot club said patrons smoked
marijuana around children, divided pot illegally and urinated in bushes.

All three Santa Rosa clubs have been targeted by thieves. Last month,
robbers stole marijuana from a West Steele Lane cooperative at
gunpoint, police said.

Operators of the new club said they did their planning with all of
that in mind.

Beyries said they are opening in a commercial area that is far from
schools and parks and will be closely supervised.

No one under 21 will be allowed to buy pot. Smoking on the premises
will be banned and all patrons will be required to show proof of
county residency, Beyries said.

Northbay Wellness Cooperative is a nonprofit California corporation
that is run by a board of directors and is not connected to existing
clubs, Beyries said.

"We simply want to be judged for ourselves, not the reputation of
others," Beyries said.

Santa Rosa Avenue neighbors, including a family living next door, were
skeptical about the club's ability to run trouble-free.

And the club's landlord, used car dealer Ruben Luna, said he leased
the property for three years after the tenants said they wanted to
open a video store.

"It's the first time I heard about this," Luna said. "I don't want it
to be on my property."

George Creamier, a barber across the street, said he's afraid people
will loiter at the club late at night and scare people away from his
business.

"Personally, I don't like it," Creamier said.

Gina Porterfield, who lives in a house next to the club with her
husband and three children, said mixing drugs and children is unwise.

"Look at how close they are," Porterfield said Tuesday, pointing
across her yard. "Our swing-set is right there."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake